JPS Health Network files "catastrophe notice" with state due to network downtime

August 8, 2026 - 00:23

A Fort Worth-based public hospital system has officially filed a "catastrophe notice" with Texas state regulators, citing the ongoing network downtime that has disrupted operations for more than a week. The filing, submitted by JPS Health Network, is a formal step required when a healthcare provider experiences a significant disruption that could affect patient care or administrative functions.

However, a spokesperson for JPS clarified that the notice is narrowly focused. "This is only related to the temporary interruption of our ability to process public information requests," the representative said. The statement aims to downplay broader concerns about patient safety or clinical data access, which have been raised by local officials and community members since the outage began.

The network, which serves Tarrant County and operates a major hospital plus multiple clinics, has been grappling with system failures since late last week. Staff have reportedly reverted to paper records and manual processes in several departments. While emergency services remain operational, some non-urgent appointments and prescription renewals have been delayed.

State regulators require such notices when a facility anticipates that the disruption will last more than a few days or could impact public health reporting. The filing does not trigger an automatic investigation, but it does put the network on a formal watchlist. JPS has not provided a timeline for full restoration, though IT teams are working with external cybersecurity experts to diagnose the root cause. The outage has also drawn scrutiny from county commissioners, who have requested a detailed briefing next week.